


The Copper Trio

by Mae01



Series: Marauders Modern AU [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Best Friends, Fanfiction, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gen, Modern Marauders (Harry Potter), One Shot, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Remus Lupin & Lily Evans Potter Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 02:20:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29252853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mae01/pseuds/Mae01
Summary: This is the story behind the fallout of Severus Snape and Lily Evans in the Marauders Modern AU. See the relationship between Lily and Severus (and Remus, kind of) start, grow, and end.“Is she always this energetic?”“Almost always. You’ll get used to it, don’t worry.”“But I didn’t say that we were going to be friends?”“Listen, Severus. I have known Lily for my whole life. Once she gets an idea, she sticks with it. In other words, you are pretty much stuck with us for the time being.”
Relationships: Lily Evans Potter & Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall & Lily Evans Potter, Remus Lupin & Lily Evans Potter, Remus Lupin & Minerva McGonagall, Remus Lupin & Severus Snape
Series: Marauders Modern AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2138295
Kudos: 18





	The Copper Trio

**Author's Note:**

> This is a stand-alone work. There are other stories in the universe, but you do not need to read other stories to understand this one.
> 
> This is the story behind the fallout of Severus Snape and Lily Evans in the Marauders Modern AU. See the friendship between Lily, Severus and Remus start, grow, and end.
> 
> I do not own any Harry Potter characters all characters belong to JK Rowling.

**Age 9**

“Remus? Should we ask if that boy wants to come play with us? I see him here a lot but he is never with anyone.”

“If you want, Lily. You know I won’t stop you.”

Remus and Lily had been friends since they were babies. Their parents had forced them to hang out for the first many years, but thankfully the two children became best friends and continued to hang out after their parents had stopped forcing them to hang out. One of their favourite places to hang out was the park that was a five-minute walk from their houses. They would come here every Saturday and spend the afternoon playing on the swings, playing tag, or just talking. Over the past couple of weeks, Lily had seen another boy their age from school at the park whenever they were there but he was never with anyone. She felt bad that he never played with anyone, so this week she had gathered the courage to ask her best friend, Remus Lupin, if he would be okay with inviting the other boy to play with. With his answer, she grabbed his hand and marched over to the other boy from school.

“Hi! You’re Severus, right?”

“Um, yes I am. I don’t mean to be rude, but why are you talking to me?” _This boy seems to have no idea how friends were made,_ Lily thought. _I guess it’s a good thing I know how to make friends!_

“Well, Severus, Remus and I have been coming to this park for a long time and we have seen you here over the past couple of weeks and you never hang out with anyone. We were wondering if you wanted to hang out with us?”

“I’m sorry, but I really don’t know you both and I don’t know how you even know me. If you wouldn’t mind, I would like to be left alone. I shouldn’t be talking to strangers.”

“I’m sorry,” Remus said. “I am Remus Lupin and this is Lily Evans. We all go to the same school but you are in a different room than us. We sit at the table next to you in the cafeteria. Lily tends to be very forward when talking to people.”

“Oh...” Severus said looking down at his hands. _These kids seem nice and I guess we go to the same school,_ he thought. _Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to hang out with them this one time._ “I guess we can hang out today. I can’t promise we will be friends but I’m willing to give you both a chance.”

“Perfect! Let’s go play on the swings!” Lily had exclaimed before running off in the direction of the swings, leaving the two boys to walk together in the direction.

“Is she always this energetic?”

“Almost always. You’ll get used to it, don’t worry.”

“But I didn’t say that we were going to be friends?”

“Listen, Severus. I have known Lily for my whole life. Once she gets an idea, she sticks with it. In other words, you are pretty much stuck with us for the time being.”

“Oh… Is that a good or a bad thing?”

“Depends on the day,” Remus laughed. “Lily is the friend who will stick with someone until the end. Unless you hurt her or me really badly, you are stuck with her and me until the end. Anyways, let’s run to catch up with Lily. She’s probably trying to stop any other kid from sitting on the other swings so we can all swing together.” The two boys took off running. Little did they know, they were going to get to know each other very well over the next couple of years.

**Age 10**

“Happy birthday, Lily,” Severus said as he walked into her house.

“Thanks, Sev!” Lily exclaimed while giving him a hug. “I’m so glad you were able to make it!”

“Me too, my parents weren’t sure if I could make it until about an hour ago. I’m sorry for the late notice about being able to come.”

“Oh, don’t be silly! I’m glad you were able to come and I made you a goody bag even if you weren’t able to make it!”

“Really? Why?”

“Because you’re one of my best friends!”

“Oh… Well, thank you. You are one of my best friends as well. And I got you a present, you can open it whenever you want.” Severus had passed a tiny gift bag to his friend.

“Can I open it now?”

“If you would like to.”

When Lily opened the gift, she was surprised to be a little bracelet with a pendant of a sun. It was a gold colour and absolutely beautiful. Simple, but beautiful.

“Oh, Sev… It is beautiful, thank you!”

“You’re welcome. I picked it out with Remus’ help. I wanted something that represented our friendship.”

“Why did you pick a sun?”

“Because even in the darkest times, you are still there.”

**Age 11**

“Hey, Rem?” Severus questioned. The group of friends were sitting in Lilys’ room and working on the math homework their teacher had sent home with them for the weekend. They had just started the algebra unit and although the three friends found it easy, it was more fun to do the homework together. They also wanted to have a movie marathon that weekend, so they decided to finish their homework together on Friday so that they could watch movies all day on Saturday.

“What’s up, Sev?”

“How do you do question seventeen? Can you check my work and see where I’m going wrong? I’ve been doing the same thing for all the other questions but I can’t figure out where I’m going wrong now. This stuff is easy for all of us but I can’t figure out how I got the wrong answer.”

Remus took his friends paper and started looking over it. As he spent a minute looking at the page, he couldn’t see anything wrong with the method he was using.

“I don’t know… You are using the correct method and...” his voice trailed off and quickly turned into laughter.

“What? Where did I go wrong?”

“Severus, 18 divided by two is not 36… you multiplied by two instead of dividing by two.” The room burst into laughter at the realization of the math mistake.

“Oh my gosh,” Lily said through her laughter. “I think we need a break. We have obviously been working too long. How about we go get some snacks downstairs?”

As Lily stood up to leave the room, Severus and Remus followed as they all kept laughing. The group had a tight dynamic and had grown really close to each other over the past two years. There were still some sore subjects that the group wouldn’t approach, but they considered themselves lucky to have each other.

**Age 12**

“Hey, Sev. What are your plans for Saturday?”

“I’m not sure yet. Lily leaves for the weekend on Friday though, right?”

“She does. I was wondering if you wanted to go to The Order with me and work on some of the math homework together?” Remus and Severus didn’t usually hang out together unless Lily would be there. It wasn’t that they didn’t like each other, in fact, they were really close. It was more so the reason that Lily knew how to end an awkward silence and Remus and Severus did not. When the two of them hung out without Lily, there tended to be a lot of awkward silences so they try to avoid that as much as they can.

“Sure. It would be nice to have some help with it incase I multiply instead of divide.” With plans to meet at their favourite coffee shop at noon on Saturday, they parted ways.

**Saturday**

“Hey, Sev! How are you?”

“I’m alright, how are you?” Severus responded as he sat down at the table across from Remus and took out his homework.

“I’m alright too. I just ordered us two hot chocolates. I remember that you always get hot chocolates where we come here so I hope that is okay?”

“Oh, it is. I didn’t know you knew that. Thank you.”

“I’m quite observant, I tend to know a lot.”

The two boys started their homework as their hot chocolates were delivered to the table. They didn’t talk much unless it was about a math question, but they had fun. As they were preparing to pack up, Severus decided to ask a question he had debated asking for a long time.

“Hey, Rem? Can I ask a question?”

“Of course. What’s up?”

“Do you like Lily?”

“Um… Yes? I mean that’s why she’s my best friend?”

“No, I mean, do you have a crush on her?”

“You mean like you do? No, I don’t.”

“Wait wait wait. Hold on a second. How do you-”

“Severus, really? As I said, I’m very observant. I’ve known you liked her for a long time.”

“You’re not mad?”

“Why would I be mad?”

“I don’t know...”

“Listen, Sev. I’m not going to stand in between you liking Lily. She is like my sister and she thinks of me as a brother. If you still like her when we enter high school then I’ll probably give you a big brother speech, but we are just kids right now. Like who you want.”

“Oh… Um, thanks? You’re really wise for a 12-year-old, did you know that?”

“I’ve been told that occasionally.”

And that was that. Remus knew for sure that Severus liked Lily and Severus knew that Remus was not in the way of him liking Lily.

**Age 13**

The three friends were hanging out in the park. It was a Saturday and the weather was nice, so after ordering some smoothies from The Order, the friends had walked to the park to sit on a picnic table and hang out. Lily did most of the talking which was normal since Remus had grown quieter over the years, but usually, Severus would talk a lot as well. Noticing his quietness and how his mood was off, she decided to confront him once they had sat down in the park.

“Hey, Sev? What’s wrong?”

“What do you mean, Lily? I’m perfectly fine.”

“You aren’t though. I know Remus wouldn’t say anything, but we both notice that you are off today. If you want to talk about something, you know we are here to listen, right?” Lily had questioned while grabbing his hand from across the table. Severus looked taken back. Maybe it was the fact that both of his friends had noticed, maybe it was the fact that Lily had a worried look in her eyes as she looked at him, or maybe it was that he realized at that moment that he trusted both Lily and Remus to listen to his problem. As Severus looked between Lily and Remus, Remus seemed to think that his presence might be the problem with his friend not opening up.

“I can leave,” he said. “If you want to talk to Lily then I can leave.”

“No,” came Severus’ immediate reply. “I trust you both, I just don’t know how to say this.”

“Take your time, Sev.” Lily encouraged with a small smile. After 10 minutes of silence, he finally found the words to say.

“My parents don’t have a good relationship. My dad is abusive and hurts my mum. They don’t pay much attention to me which is why when we have made plans in the past, I didn’t know until the day of if I could attend. I’ve gotten used to it as I just fly under the radar. My mother made it clear to not put myself in harm's way and as a child, I listened. This past week, however, things changed. My dad hurt my mom really bad and when the neighbours called the police and they showed up, my mom just denied everything. It’s like she doesn’t care anymore and she isn’t holding onto life anymore. I don’t know what to do about it and there honestly isn’t anything I can do.”

“Oh, Sev,” Lily said. “ I’m so sorry. I don’t know how I can help.”

“There’s nothing you can do, but that’s okay. I want it all to be okay, but I guess I have just realized that things may not always turn out to be okay.”

“I’m sorry, Severus,” Remus said quietly. “I wish I could also help.”

“It’s okay. Thank you guys for just listening and not making me answer any more questions.”

“We will never push you, Severus. No good is done in friendships when the friends pester each other for answers. We are here for you though.” Came Remus’ reply.

**Age 14**

**(Summer before High School)**

“Are you boys ready for high school?“ Lily had asked. They were spending their last Saturday of the summer at the place where their friendship all began, which was the swing set in the park.

“I’m not sure,” was Severus’ reply whereas Remus just shook his head.

“I think I’m ready. I’m looking forward to the more interesting courses!”

“Lily,” Severus started, “I think that is the least normal reason to be excited about high school.”

“It is not! Just think about it, we will soon be able to learn about physics and chemistry and biology and-”

“Lily! Most people are excited for the parties that come with high school… Being excited about courses getting harder is not normal.” Severus said with a laugh.

The group sat in silence for a while as they watched the kids run and play together on the playground in the middle of the park. It was hard to think that they used to be that energetic and care-free.

“Do you think things will change between us over the next couple of years?” Lily questioned.

“I think so,” came Severus’ reply. “I don’t know if it will be a good or a bad thing though.”

 _Things are going to change,_ Remus thought. _Life is going to change and we just have to deal with it._

**Age 15**

Things changed between the three friends throughout their first year of High School. Lily tried to keep the friends together and tried to keep their hangouts going but it was hard. Remus had grown distant from not only Severus but also from Lily and his parents. Although Lily kept a close eye on him, there was only so much help she could provide. Severus, however, started hanging out with other people. Lily knew that he might make other friends and she was happy that he was making friends. The problem, however, was that he was becoming friends with known members of The Death Eaters. The Death Eaters were a gang group. No one was entirely sure what they did exactly, but they knew they committed a lot of crimes and were able to get away without getting caught. This group caused a change in Severus that worried Lily. Severus became harsher and ruder. The excuses he gave when he couldn’t hang out because he was with the gang were shady. He would say ‘I have things. I don’t have time to act like a child anymore.’ This wasn’t the Severus that Lily and Remus had grown to know and love. This wasn’t the attitude of someone who was innocent of the crimes happening in the area would have. There was no doubt about it. Lily was extremely worried and hoped that their second year of high school would be better and that Severus would change back to the nice friend Lily knew. At this point, all Lily could do was hope.

**Age 16**

“You’ll call me if you need me?”

“Of course, Lily. And you’ll call me if you need me?”

“Remus, you are the one going to testify in court. I think I will be okay in our little city here.”

“I know, but be careful. Lily, I need to tell you something.”

“What is it, love?”

Remus was leaving the next morning before school started to go testify in court against a man name Fenrir Greyback. Greyback had assaulted and abused Remus for years and he was finally going on trial. The trial was supposed to take all week so Remus was spending the week in the city where the trial was taking place. It was hard for Lily to let go of Remus for a week when she wouldn’t be there for him if he needed her. She had asked her parents to let her go with him but they had refused, telling her that there was school and she couldn’t afford to fall behind. Remus and Severus no longer hung out, but Lily and Severus would try to hang out when possible so that was what Lily was planning to do this week while her best friend was gone. Remus had told her before that Severus had joined the Death Eaters, but she refused to believe it. Severus was still a sweet and kind boy somewhere in his heart, he had just hit a rough patch in life.

“I know you don’t want to believe it so I won’t drag it out. Severus is a Death Eater and-”

“Remus, you-”

“Lily, please just let me say this, okay?” When Lily nodded her head, he continued. “I am not supposed to tell anything about what happens in court and you know that. It could be punishable if I release details so you know I won’t be able to tell you anything until I get back on Friday. But I know that Greyback is on trial for not only what he did to me and many other kids, but for claims about him being a member of The Death Eaters. I cannot tell you anything else but that is why I am so worried about you hanging out with Severus this week. Lily, please just be careful. If the other members know how close you and I are then they could possibly try to get to you to get information out about the case.”

“But I won’t know any information...”

“But they may not believe that! Lily, please just tell me you’ll be careful. That’s all I want.”

“Okay, love. I’ll be careful, I promise.”

“Thank you. I’m sorry, I know you don’t like it when I bring it up but I’m just really on edge.”

“I know and I understand. You’ll come over once you get back on Friday?”

“I will. You’ll leave your window open so I can crawl through?”

“You know I will. Come back soon, I can barely manage a weekend without my brother let alone an entire week,” Lily said with a smile as she hugged her best friend.

“I’m a pretty great brother, aren’t I?” Remus said with a laugh earning him a light slap on the arm. “I’ll be over the moment I get home. I love you, Lily.”

“I love you too, Rem.”

**Wednesday after school**

“Hey, Sev!” Lily greeted her friend as she saw him turn around the corner. He had texted her earlier that day and asked if she wanted to walk home together. Lily hadn’t been expecting him to ask as she was usually the one to reach out so they could hang out. When she had received his text, she quickly typed back a yes and looked forward to it all day. They hadn’t seen each other lately even though they had planned to hang out this week since Remus was gone, but the thought that Severus had thought of her made her smile. She didn’t like him as more than a friend, but it was nice that he wanted to hang out.

“Lily,” he said with a slight nod of his head. “Are you ready to head out?”

“I am!” As they started walking, Lily felt like something was off but decided to brush it off and start a conversation. “ So what have you been up to? I haven’t seen you lately.”

“This and that. I have been busy. How is Remus? He hasn’t been around this week.”

“Remus is good, he is just out of town this week.” Lily was starting to get more paranoid. She had been careful and this is Severus she’s with. Making a conscious decision to stay close to the road, she tried to continue acting normal. She was just paranoid, that’s all.

“Hmm. That’s nice. Have you talked lately?”

“What is going on, Sev?”

“Nothing, Lily.” As he said this, three men Lily didn’t know popped out of an ally in front of them and stopped them from moving any farther.

“Hello there,” one man said. “You must be Lily.”

Lily was very on edge now, how did these men know her name and why didn’t Severus looked surprised at their presence? She took a step back but Severus grabbed her wrist and stopped her from moving any farther.

“Sev? What is going on?”

“Oh,” one of the other men said. “Did Severus not tell you about this meeting?”

“What are they talking about, Sev?” Lily did not like this one bit. She should have listened to Remus. At least she was still on the sidewalk. Maybe someone would see her and ask what was going on. She just wanted to go home.

“Just answer their questions and then we can leave.”

“What is going on and who are you guys?”

“Oh, dear. Have we not introduced ourselves? That’s okay. How about you just answer our questions and then you can leave.”

“What are your questions then?” Lily just wanted this all to be over. Was Severus behind this? Severus wouldn’t put her in harm's way, right?

“Severus tells us you are close with a guy named Remus, is that right?” Oh no, this couldn’t be happening. These couldn’t be members of The Death Eaters. This could just be a coincidence. Lily was trying very hard to stay positive but the pounding of her heart made it very difficult.

“They are best friends,” Severus responded. “They talk all the time.”

“Sev?”

“Listen, Lily,” he started to say. “They just want some answers and if you give them the answers then you won’t get hurt.”

“So you brought me to meet with them?” Lily wanted to just say nothing and to just turn around and run, but that would do her no good. She knew that they wanted to know how the trial was going but she had no answers. If she had no answers, they would hurt her. This great day was becoming a nightmare. “And what if I don’t have answers? Then I’m assuming you won’t believe that? Then what happens, Severus? What happens then?”

“Oh!” Exclaimed the third guy. “She is feisty! This could be fun. Alright, little girl. How is the trial going?”

“What? What trial?”

“Don’t play stupid, girl. We know that you know what that Remus fellow is doing this week. Why don’t you tell us what is going on and we can spare you.”

This was becoming a nightmare. Lily couldn’t believe that Severus had sold her out to get answers. Remus is her best friend and was once Severus’ best friend. Why would someone risk their best friends’ safety? _Oh my goodness,_ Lily prayed. _Please, please someone help me. I have no answers and I won’t be able to get out of this without help or answers._

“Tick Tock, little girl. Your time is running out.”

A car horn suddenly sounded and Lily quickly turned around to see who it was. She couldn’t see who it was but she really hoped it was someone who would be on her side. As the person climbed out of their car, Lily was immediately filled with relief.

“Good afternoon everyone. It seems that I have been looking for Miss Evans. She forgot to meet me after school for some English help. If you wouldn’t mind letting go of her wrist, Mr Snape, she and I will be on our way.” As the men seemed startled by the arrival of the lady, she seemed to take advantage of this moment and put her hand on Lilys’ shoulder before guiding her to the passenger side of her car before getting in on the drivers' side.

“Mrs McGonagall...”

“Lily, dear. Are you alright?”

“I thought no one was going to help me. Why were you on this end of town?”

“You happen to have a very good friend who was worried about you this week,” Mrs McGonagall replied with a smile as she started to drive to where Lily lived (she had driven her and Remus home a couple of times after school on bad weather days).

“Remus contacted you? How did he know I was in trouble?”

“Remus talked to me last week and told me what was happening this week and asked me, if it wasn’t too much trouble, to make sure you got home safely if you ever left with Mr Snape.”

Lily was taken back and surprised by the actions of Remus. He knew that she wouldn’t listen about not hanging out with Severus alone and he had made sure she would be taken care of.

“Thank you, Mrs McGonagall,” she replied with a smile.

“Would you mind if I drove you home tomorrow as well after school? I would feel better if I knew you made it home in one piece after what happened today.”

“I would appreciate that, thank you again for saving me.”

“Of course, my dear. You have a lovely night and I will see you tomorrow. Come get me from my office when you are ready to leave. Stay safe, dear.”

**Friday Afternoon**

Lily was sitting in her room trying to focus on the book she was reading while waiting for Remus to come back. He window was open for whenever he came over so now she was just waiting. She hadn’t stopped thinking about how he had talked to their Vice Principal about making sure she got home safely even though Lily had promised she would be careful. She knew something was off when she started walking with Severus but she ignored it because she was excited to hang out with him again. Remus knew she would have given Severus the benefit of the doubt. She hadn’t told him what happened yet but she knew she would have to tell him tonight.

Lily was quickly ripped from her thoughts when she heard a knock on her wall. Looking towards her window, she saw her best friend standing in her room with a smile on his face. Jumping up from her bed, she wrapped him in a tight hug.

“Hey, Lil’s, good book you were reading? You didn’t hear me almost fall out of the tree while trying to climb over here.”

“Oh, I missed you so much! How did it go? How are you?”

“I’m okay. He was found guilty on all charged.” Lily pulled back and stared at her friend with her jaw dropped. “He’s going away for good, Lily. It’s all over now.”

“Oh, my love! I’m so so happy. You can move forward.”

“I can try to move forward. Thank you for helping me through it all, Lily. You’re the best sister I could ask for.” When he said this, Lily felt a tug on her heart. Remus had been the best brother she could also have asked for, but she chose Severus over his warning. Noticing the change in her attitude, Remus pulled his friend to sit down on the bed. “Lily? What’s wrong?”

“I didn’t listen to you.”

“What do you mean?”

“You told me to be careful around Severus-”

“Lily, what did he do? What happened?”

“On Wednesday we were walking home from school and he brought me to meet with some member of The Death Eaters to answer questions without me knowing about it. They were going to hurt me if I didn’t give or have any answers and Severus brought me. Thankfully, Mrs McGonagall drove by and saw so she picked me up and drove me home.”

“Mrs McGonagall picked you up? That’s crazy, doesn’t she live on the other side of town?” Lily started laughing as soon as she realized Remus thought she didn’t know about him talking to their vice principal.

“Love, she told me you talked to her.”

“Lily, I’m sorry. I-”

“Don’t apologize, Remus. You knew I wouldn’t listen even though you wanted to believe I would. I’m okay because of you. Don’t apologize for that. Thank you for making sure I was taken care of while you were out of town.”

“You’re welcome. That’s what big brothers do.”

“I’m older than you though.”

“Let me have this, Lily! Now, pass me your phone so I can block Severus. I don’t want him trying to apologize and play a pity card. If he wants to talk to you, he’s going to have to do it in person while I glare at him.”

“I love you, Rem.”

“I love you too, Lil.”

The two friends spent the night watching movies and eating junk food. It was just the two of them now, but that is all they needed. As long as they had each other, they would be okay.


End file.
